A diverse array of semiconductor-based composite materials have been prepared, characterized, and utilized in many applications ranging from photocatalysis, photovoltaic cells, photoelectrochromic displays, and light-emitting devices to sensors. The composite architectures (nanoarchitectures in many cases) are equally diverse. In this review, we highlight the advances that have been made and identify some of the gaps in our current knowledge of these materials. Size quantization effects and semiconductor quantum dots are also discussed.

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Solar photoelectrosynthesis of methanol was driven on hybrid CuO-Cu(2)O semiconductor nanorod arrays for the first time at potentials ~800 mV below the thermodynamic threshold value and at Faradaic efficiencies up to ~95%. The CuO-Cu(2)O nanorod arrays were prepared on Cu substrates by a two-step approach consisting of the initial thermal growth of CuO nanorods followed by controlled electrodeposition of p-type Cu(2)O crystallites on their walls. No homogeneous co-catalysts (such as pyridine, imidazole or metal cyclam complexes) were used contrasting with earlier studies on this topic using p-type semiconductor photocathodes. The roles of the core-shell nanorod electrode geometry and the copper oxide composition were established by varying the time of electrodeposition of the Cu(2)O phase on the CuO nanorod core surface.

The energy payback time associated with the semiconductor active material is an important parameter in a photovoltaic solar cell device. Thus lowering the energy requirements for the semiconductor synthesis step or making it more energy-efficient is critical toward making the overall device economics more competitive relative to other nonpolluting energy options. In this communication, combustion synthesis is demonstrated to be a versatile and energy-efficient method for preparing inorganic oxide semiconductors such as tungsten trioxide (WO3) for photovoltaic or photocatalytic solar energy conversion. The energy efficiency of combustion synthesis accrues from the fact that high process temperatures are self-sustained by the exothermicity of the combustion process, and the only external thermal energy input needed is for dehydration of the fuel/oxidizer precursor mixture and bringing it to ignition. Importantly, we show that, in this approach, it is also possible to tune the optical characteristics of the oxide semiconductor (i.e., shift its response toward the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum) in situ by doping the host semiconductor during the formative stage itself. As a bonus, the resultant material shows enhanced surface properties such as markedly improved organic dye uptake relative to benchmark samples obtained from commercial sources. Finally, this synthesis approach requires only very simple equipment, a feature that it shares with other "mild" inorganic semiconductor synthesis routes such as sol-gel chemistry, chemical bath deposition, and electrodeposition. The present study constitutes the first use of combustion synthesis for preparing WO3 powder comprising nanosized particles.

The photoelectrochemical response of nanoporous films, obtained by anodization of Ti and W substrates in a variety of corrosive media and at preselected voltages in the range from 10 to 60 V, was studied. The as-deposited films were subjected to thermal anneal and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Along with the anodization media developed by previous authors, the effect of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG 400) or D-mannitol as a modifier to the NH4F electrolyte and glycerol addition to the oxalic acid electrolyte was studied for TiO2 and WO3, respectively. In general, intermediate anodization voltages and film growth times yielded excellent-quality photoelectrochemical response for both TiO2 and WO3 as assessed by linear-sweep photovoltammetry and photoaction spectra. The photooxidation of water and formate species was used as reaction probes to assess the photoresponse quality of the nanoporous oxide semiconductor films. In the presence of formate as an electron donor, the incident photon to electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) ranged from approximately 130% to approximately 200% for both TiO2 and WO3 depending on the film preparation protocol. The best photoactive films were obtained from poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG 400) containing NH4F for TiO2 and from aqueous NaF for WO3.

In this tutorial review, we summarize recent research on the solution combustion synthesis of oxide semiconductors for applications related to photovoltaic solar energy conversion, photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation, and heterogeneous photocatalytic remediation of environmental pollutants. First, the advantages of combustion synthesis relative to other strategies for preparing oxide semiconductors are discussed followed by a summary of process variants in combustion synthesis. The possibility of in situ chemical modification of the oxide during its formation in the combustion environment is addressed. Morphological and crystal structure aspects of the combustion-synthesized products are discussed followed by a summary of trends in their photocatalytic activity relative to benchmark samples prepared by other methods.

This review paper aims to show how the electrochemical behaviour of CO plays a key role in the understanding of the reaction mechanism of many electrocatalytic oxidations of small organic molecules. For that purpose, the adsorption of CO on noble metal electrodes, eventually modified by foreign metal adatoms, is reviewed, taking into account both experimental (electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques) and theoretical (Extended Hiickel Model) approaches. Data from the gas phase-solid metal interface are also considered.

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